Assictob to j



W. FVIACOBS.

BARN nooR TRACK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22. 1915. 1,1 93,553. Patented Aug. 8,1916.

JZ( MMM/ UNITE@ STATES IANVI WILLIAM F. JACOBS,

OF OTTAVLTA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO J". E. PORTER COMPANY, OF

OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BARN-DOOR TRACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented A110". 8, 1916.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, IViLLLiM F. JACOBS, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Ottawa, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Barn-Door VTracks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in track structures, and more particularly to a construction for a track adapted for use in connection with sliding doors such as ordinarily used in barns and buildings of like nature.

In general, the novel features of construction include a combined supporting track, upon which the rollers of the doorhanger travel, and a protective hood or covering for the track and door hanger, the entire structure or combination of elements being formed from a single piece or thickness of sheet metal.

The manner in which these novel features, embodying my invention, are secured will be clearly set forth as I proceed with the description of a form of barn door track, and in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of a portion of a barn door track or track section; and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the manner in which the track is formed.

Referring to the drawings, the track structure, ordinarily known as a barn door track, consists of a longitudinal sheet metal member 10 adapted to be applied to the wall 11 of a barn or other building in horizontal position above the opening or area to be closed by the sliding door, said door being supported upon. the track through the medium of suitable door hangers comprising wheels or rollers adapted to engage the tread surface of the track. The complete track preferably consists of a plurality of track sections 10, 10 secured to the building in abutting relation at their ends, although for the purpose of this invention it is sufficient to show but a portion of the track, whether 'it be in the form of a continuous structure or a series of joined track sections arranged as before stated, wherein means are provided to ioin the ends to each other and to the building, as, for instance, suitable brackets.

Iteferring more in particular to the construction and formation of the track, the same is preferably formed from strips or lengths of sheet metal of sufficient thickness yto afford the proper degree of rigidity and strength to sustain the load supported thereby. In the formation of the track, the metal is bent to form a series of integral webs and flanges, which may be described with reference to Fig. '2, wherein the relation of the several webs and flanges in sectional contour is shown. he upper portion of the track is provided with a longitudinal marginal flange 1% adapted to be secured to the wall 11 of the building, preferably by means of fastening members or screws 12 arranged at suitable intervals along the length of the track and extending through apertures in said flange, said screws being anchored in said wall. Extending outwardly from the lower margin of the flange 14 is an outwardly and downwardly inclined web portion 15 formed by bending the metal outwardly to a position substantially at right angles to the flange 111, although preferably inclined downwardly to a slight degree from the horizontal. Depending from the outer extremity of the inclined web portion 15 or top wall of the track structure is a downwardly extending, vertical web portion 16 spaced from the wall of the building and preferably parallel. therewith.

The outwardly and downwardly extending web portions 15 and 1G obviously form the hood or protective shield of the structure, serving to cover the track proper, as will hereinafter appear. At the lower margin of the vertical web 16 is provided an inclined web portion 17 formed by bending the metal inwardly and downwardly substantially at an angle of 45 degrees to said vertical web portion, the lower margin of the inclined portion 17 terminating substantially midway between the wall v11 and the plane of the vertical web 1G.- From the inner margin of the web portion 17 the metal is bent upwardly and inwardly toward the wall 11, substantially at right angles to said web portion 17, and forms a comparatively short flange 1S, the same being inclined at an angle of approximately.

L15 degrees to the vertical. The flange portion 18 is considerably shorter in length than the web portion 17, and terminates a short distance from the wall 11, leaving an opening or space substantially equal to onethird the distance from the wall to the vertical web portion 1G. The web and flange portions 17 and 18 together form an upwardly facing, V-shaped groove or trough, within which travel the rollers of the door hanger hereinafter to be described, said trough or groove thereby constituting the track proper or tread of the track structure.

rIhe iemaining portions of the track consist of an outwardly and downwardly inclined flange 19, formed by bending or folding the lower marginal portion of the metal in a reverse direction to the flange 18 and through an angle of 180 degrees, so that the upper marginal portion 2O of the flange 19 lies substantially flat against the inner surface of said flange 19, forming, in effect, a flange of double thickness of metal. The outer or remaining portion of the flange 19 projects outwardly and downwardly from the apex of the V-shaped trough at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to thel horizontal, the outer margin of said flange termi nating beyond the plane of the vertical web portion 1G and below the track proper or tread portion. The outer marginal portion of the flange 19 is disposed or offset upwardly from the plane of the inner marginal portion 2O by the provision of a slight bend or offset portion 2Oa located at the point immediately below the apex of the V-shaped trough, said offset portion providing, in effect, a sho-rt horizontal web separating the two portions of the flange and acting to provide a shoulder or stop, as will hereinafter be'pointed out. The V-shaped trough or track proper is so formed that the upper or tread surface is entirely inclosed within and protected by the hood, as is also thc roller 22 of the door hanger 23, which engages the tread surface of the track proper and occupies the space inclosed by the wal] of the building 'and the webs 15 and 16 forming said hood. The flange 19 further serves as a protection for the other parts of the door hanger, in that it constitutes a protective and weatherproof shield,

designed to shed water that may fall upon the track structure or come down the wall of the building, and thus preventing the exposure of such parts' lof the door hanger which depend below the track proper to the destructive effects of the elements, as well as the access of rain and water to the' space immediately below the track, which, otherwise, would find its way into the building by trickling` down between the upper margin of the door and the wall of the building. The door hanger, as well known, supports the sliding door 21 upon or suspends or rollers are disposed in a vertical plane l and preferably have curvilinear bearing surfaces which engage the bottom of the trough or V-shaped groove constituting the tread portion of the track. Depending from the hanger frame is an arm or connecting member 2-1, fixed at its upper end to the frame 23, and throughout its upper portion is curved inwardly from the plane of the roller toward the wall of the building in substantially U-shape, in order to clear or avoid contact with the edge of the inner flange 18 of the track. The lower portion of the arm 24 is inclined outwardly and terminates below the track proper and substantially in the plane of the roller 22, the lower end of the arm. being formed to provide an upwardly facing, U-shaped or hooked extremity 25, the free end thereof terminating a lshort distance from the surface of the flange 19. The arm 21 is attached to the door 21 by means of a pin 27, which fits within the hooked extremity and passes through an eye 26a formed in the upper portion of a U-shaped metal strap 26, which embraces the upper edge of the door and is securely attached thereto.

Referring now to the function of the offset portion or shoulder Q0EL located immediately below the apex of the track proper, the same coperates with the door hanger to effect what is known as a cant-get-off construction, or, in other words, a construction whereby the rollers of the hanger are properly retained within the trough and rcstrained from being disposed therefrom by undesired movements of the door, such as swinging the door outwardly from its normal vertical position, or by the sudden jars or shocks delivered to the door in opening or closing the same with undue force. The arrangement of the parts of the track and door hanger accomplishes the so-called cantget-off feature in the following manner: lVhen the door is moving outwardly the tendency obviously is to swing the hanger in the same direction, thus tilting the roller inwardly and displacing the same from its normal vertical position. This movement of the roller is prevented, however, by the contact of the outer extremity of the hooked extremity 25 of the hanger arm 24: with tha adjacent surface of the flange 19. In this manner the hanger is maintained in substantally vertical position, and the swinging movement of the door takes place about the pin 9.7. The function of the offset portion 20, however, is better exhibited when the direction of the force tending to displace the roller from the track is such that the hanger is moved upwardly, resulting in the roller leaving the track entirely, or a combined upward and outwardly swinging movement of the door, thereby effecting the oblique movement of the roller along the inclined surface of the track iiange portion 18. Assuming for the present that the roller remains in a vertical position and is moved laterally up the inclined surface of said flange 18, it is apparent that the hanger arm 2l will be moved in the same direction, and the end surface of the U-shaped portion 25 of said hanger will move in a plane spaced from and substantially parallel to the flange 1f). lVhen the roller approaches the upper edge of said flange 18, the said end surface of the hanger arm will strike the offset portion or shoulder 20a, thereby preventing further movement of the hanger and roller in an upward direction. and. hence. the roller is retained within the trough and will immediately return to its proper position. The shoulder 20 acts in the same manner when, in addition to the upward movement of the door, there is a force applied tending to swing the door outwardly, except that in such case there will be Contact of the extremity of the arm 24 with the surface of the flange 19 and a sliding movement of said extremity along the flange until it strikes the shoulder, and further movement will cease. Again the offset portion 20, by reason of its formation, presents a downwardly facing surface, against which the eye 26 of the strap 2G strikes when the door is moved upwardly relative to the hanger, which is possible by reason of the open connection between the arm 24 and the pin 27. Under these circumstances the shoulder 2()a acts as a stop to prevent further upward movement of the door as would ultimately displace the roller from the track if no shoulder were formed at this point, in which case a continuously inclined surface would be presented to the portions of the door hanger and supporting members, and said parts on striking the inclined surface would continue in an upwardly and inwardly inclined direction, with the result that the roller would be carried inthe same direction and entirely displaced from the track.

The construction for a barn door track, embodying the features herein set forth, derives its advantages from the fact that a single sheet of metal constitutes the entire structure, and that there are required but comparatively simple operations to produce a complete structure in which all the fundamental requirements of a suitable door hanger supporting member are present and in addition thereto the novel features of construction hereinbefore pointed out.

Having described the construction of a form of track embodying the features of my invention and the advantages derived therefrom, claim as my invention:

A track member made of sheet material and bent to comprise an upper Bange adapted to be rigidly secured to the wall of a building, a web integral with and extending outwardly from said flange, a web integral with and extending downwardly from said outwardly extending web, said downwardly extending web having the lower marginal portion thereof bent inwardly and upwardly to form a substantially V-shaped, upwardly opening trough adapted to receive therein the rollers of a door hanger; the opposed surfaces of the inclined walls of said trough constituting the tread surface of said track member, and the inner inclined wall of said trough being bent outwardly and downwardly upon itself to provide a double thickness of sheet material for said inner inclined wall and to provide a flange extending outwardly and downwardly from said track member and below said trough, and said last named flange being provided intermediate its longitudinal edges and adjacent to the bottom of said trough with an upwardly offset portion forming a downwardly facing shoulder.

ln testimony, that l, claim the foregoing as my invention l aiiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 19th day of April A. l). 1915.

WILLIAM F. JACOBS. lVitnesses:

CARL F. STOTTE, AMELIA M. WITTE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

